Securing your wallet

Like in real life, your wallet must be secured. Bitcoin makes it possible to transfer value anywhere in a very easy way and it allows you to be in control of your money. Such great features also come with great security concerns. At the same time, Bitcoin can provide very high levels of security if used correctly. Always remember that it is your responsibility to adopt good practices in order to protect your money.

Be careful with online services

You should be wary of any service designed to store your money online. Many exchanges and online wallets suffered from security breaches in the past and such services generally still do not provide enough insurance and security to be used to store money like a bank. Accordingly, you might want to use other types of Bitcoin wallets. Otherwise, you should choose such services very carefully. Additionally, using two-factor authentication is recommended.

Small amounts for everyday uses

A Bitcoin wallet is like a wallet with cash. If you wouldn’t keep a thousand dollars in your pocket, you might want to have the same consideration for your Bitcoin wallet. In general, it is a good practice to keep only small amounts of bitcoins on your computer, mobile, or server for everyday uses and to keep the remaining part of your funds in a safer environment.

Backup your wallet

Stored in a safe place, a backup of your wallet can protect you against computer failures and many human mistakes. It can also allow you to recover your wallet after your mobile or computer was stolen if you keep your wallet encrypted.

Backup your entire wallet

Some wallets use many hidden private keys internally. If you only have a backup of the private keys for your visible Bitcoin addresses, you might not be able to recover a great part of your funds with your backup.

Encrypt online backups

Any backup that is stored online is highly vulnerable to theft. Even a computer that is connected to the Internet is vulnerable to malicious software. As such, encrypting any backup that is exposed to the network is a good security practice.

Use many secure locations

Single points of failure are bad for security. If your backup is not dependent of a single location, it is less likely that any bad event will prevent you to recover your wallet. You might also want to consider using different medias like USB keys, papers and CDs.

Make regular backups

You need to backup your wallet on a regular basis to make sure that all recent Bitcoin change addresses and all new Bitcoin addresses you created are included in your backup. However, all applications will be soon using wallets that only need to be backed up once.

Encrypt your wallet

Encrypting your wallet or your smartphone allows you to set a password for anyone trying to withdraw any funds. This helps protect against thieves, though it cannot protect against keylogging hardware or software.

Never forget your password

You should make sure you never forget the password or your funds will be permanently lost. Unlike your bank, there are very limited password recovery options with Bitcoin. In fact, you should be able to remember your password even after many years without using it. In doubt, you might want to keep a paper copy of your password in a safe place like a vault.

Use a strong password

Any password that contains only letters or recognizable words can be considered very weak and easy to break. A strong password must contain letters, numbers, punctuation marks and must be at least 16 characters long. The most secure passwords are those generated by programs designed specifically for that purpose. Strong passwords are usually harder to remember, so you should take care in memorizing it.

Offline wallet for savings

An offline wallet, also known as cold storage, provides the highest level of security for savings. It involves storing a wallet in a secured place that is not connected to the network. When done properly, it can offer a very good protection against computer vulnerabilities. Using an offline wallet in conjunction with backups and encryption is also a good practice. Here is an overview of some approaches.

Offline transaction signing

This approach involves having two computers sharing some parts of the same wallet. The first one must be disconnected from any network. It is the only one that holds the entire wallet and is able to sign transactions. The second computer is connected to the network and only has a watching wallet that can only create unsigned transactions. This way, you can securely issue new transactions with the following steps.

Create a new transaction on the online computer and save it on an USB key.

Sign the transaction with the offline computer.

Send the signed transaction with the online computer.

Because the computer that is connected to the network cannot sign transactions, it cannot be used to withdraw any funds if it is compromised. Armory can be used to do offline transaction signature.

Hardware wallets

Hardware wallets are the best balance between very high security and ease of use. These are little devices that are designed from the root to be a wallet and nothing else. No software can be installed on them, making them very secure against computer vulnerabilities and online thieves. Because they can allow backup, you can recover your funds if you lose the device.

Keep your software up to date

Using the latest version of your Bitcoin software allows you to receive important stability and security fixes. Updates can prevent problems of various severity, include new useful features and help keep your wallet safe. Installing updates for all other software on your computer or mobile is also important to keep your wallet environment safer.

Multi-signature to protect against theft

Bitcoin includes a multi-signature feature that allows a transaction to require multiple independent approvals to be spent. This can be used by an organization to give its members access to its treasury while only allowing a withdrawal if 3 of 5 members sign the transaction. Some web wallets also provide multi-signature wallets, allowing the user to keep control over their money while preventing a thief from stealing funds by compromising a single device or server.

Think about your testament

Your bitcoins can be lost forever if you don’t have a backup plan for your peers and family. If the location of your wallets or your passwords are not known by anyone when you are gone, there is no hope that your funds will ever be recovered. Taking a bit of time on these matters can make a huge difference.

Online wallet creator

Bitcoin Interest Edition. All the data is stored only on your browser. Don’t forget to write down your keys before exit.

Open Source

btgwallet.online and Coinbin are an open source web based wallets written in javascript and released under the MIT license which means it’s free to use and edit. None of the providers and developers bare responsibility if a user get scammed. By using this software you are agreeing that it has no warranty.

MultiSig

We offer a fully transparent multisig solution which works seamlessly offline and with other Bitcoin Interest clients.

Raw Transactions

Wallet

Quick access to an online wallet where only you have access to your own private keys!

Addresses

We support regular addresses, multisig, segwit and stealth all with access to your own private keys!

Development

Use what we’ve built to write your own projects! See our documention (coming soon), or contribute at github.

Wallet browser based Bitcoin Interest wallet

Logout Welcome to your wallet, enjoy your stay!

0.00 BCI

Send

History

Keys

Balance will not update until the first confirmation. It may take up to one hour.

New Address create a new address

Any keys used you will need to manually store safely as they will be needed later to redeem the Bitcoin Interest.

Address Options

You can use the advanced options below to generate different kind of keys and addresses.

New SegWit Address Smaller & Faster Transactions

Any keys used you will need to manually store safely as they will be needed later to redeem the bitcoins.

SegWit Address (Share)

Address Options

You can use the advanced options below to generate different kind of keys and addresses.

New Multisig Address Secure multisig address

Enter the public keys of all the participants, to create a multi signature address. Maximum of 15 allowed. Compressed and uncompressed public keys are accepted.

Enter the amount of signatures required to release the coins

Payment should be made to this address:

This script should be saved and should be shared with all the participants before a payment is made, so they may validate the authenticity of the address, it will also be used later to release the Bitcoin Interests.

New Time Locked Address Coins can be released only after a certain date

Use OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY (OP_HODL) to create a time locked address where the funds are unspendable until a set date and time has passed.

Enter the public key that will be able to unlock the funds after the a certain date.

Enter the date and time or blockheight required to release the coins:

Payment should be made to this address:

This script should be saved and should be shared with all the participants before a payment is made, so they may validate the authenticity of the address, it will also be used later to release the Bitcoin Interests.

New HD Address making bip32 even easier

Use the form below to generate a master hierarchical deterministic address.

Address Options

You can use the advanced options below to generate different kinds of master addresses.

Transaction Create a new transaction

Use this page to create a raw transaction

Address, WIF key or Redeem Script:

Clear existing inputs when new inputs are loaded.

Null Data (80 byte limit, 40 bytes recommended)

Allow data to be sent within the transaction and stored in the blockchain by using OP_RETURN.

The locktime indicates the earliest time a transaction can be added to the block chain.

Replace By Fee (RBF)

The settings page can be used to select alternative networks of which you can retrieve your unspent outputs and broadcast a signed transaction into.

Enter the address and amount you wish to make a payment to.

Enter the details of inputs you wish to spend.

The transaction below has been generated and encoded. It can be broadcasted once it has been signed.

Bitcoin Interest Fee Calculator

This page will give you a guide on the lowest fee to use to get your transaction included within the next few blocks. It works by predicting the size of a transaction and comparing it to another transaction in a recent block to determine an appropriate fee.

Recommended Fee: 0.00000000 BCI for a transaction of 0 bytes

Regular Compressed 1 148 bytes*estimate

SegWit 0 0 bytes*estimate

MultiSig 0 0 bytes*estimate

Hodl Time Locked 0 0 bytes*estimate

Unknown 0 0 bytes*estimate

Regular p2pkh (1. ) 2 68 bytes*estimate

Regular p2sh (3. ) 0 0 bytes*estimate

Blockchain Data

This is based on us comparing your transaction against a very recent transaction found in a very recent block

Transaction Size: 0 bytes

Transaction Fee: 0.00000000

Satoshi per Byte: 0

Based on your data and this recently mined transaction we recommend a fee of 0.00000000 BCI to get it into the next few blocks

Enter your unsigned or signed hex encoded transaction below:

Estimate Input Size in bytes

Estimate Output Size in bytes

Verify transactions and other scripts

Enter the raw transaction, redeem script, pubkey, hd address or wif key to convert it into a readable format that can be verified manually.

Redeem Script

The above redeem script has been decoded

Signatures Required from

Transaction Script

The above script has been decoded

WIF key

The above wif key has been decoded

Public key

The above public key has been encoded to its address

Segwit Redeem Script:

HD Address

The key has been decoded

Key Derivation

The path of key derivation

Keys derived from the hd address provided

Sign Transaction once a transaction has been verified

Once you have verified a transaction you can sign and then broadcast it into the network.

The above transaction has been signed:

Broadcast Transaction into the Bitcoin Interest network

Enter your hex encoded Bitcoin Interest transaction

Development Javascript framework, API and more

About open source Bitcoin Interest wallet

Compatible with bitcoin-qt

What is Bitcoin Interest?

BitcoinInterest («BCI») is a competitive staking cryptocurrency focusing on three key areas Technology, Community, and Savings. Our blockchain has new integrated savings technology that allows our users to safely park their coins and earn interest payments without ever moving coins from their wallets.

Don’t Risk Your Coin Holdings

Unlike other interest payment platforms that require you to send your coins to them, Bitcoin Interest is the first fully decentralized interest payments platform that will never ask you to send your coins anywhere! With our advanced interest technology you can hold your coins in your own wallet and receive interest payments with absolutely no risk to you. You’ll never be required to trust your coin holdings with anyone again!

Information

wallet.bitcoininterest.io is a free and open source project released under the MIT license, originally by OutCast3k in 2013. Discussion of the project can be found at bitcointalk.org during its early testing stages when its primary focus was to develop a proof of concept multisig solution in javascript.

wallet.bitcoininterest.io is run and funded by the generosity of others in terms of development and hosting.

Privacy

Bitcoin Interest believes strongly in privacy, the site does not collect and store IP or transaction data via our servers nor do we store your bitcoins private key. We are using an LetвЂ™s Encrypt SSL certificate.

This page uses javascript to generate your addresses and sign your transactions within your browser, this means we never receive your private keys, this can be independently verified by reviewing the source code on github. You can even download this page and host it yourself or run it offline!

Bitcoin Interest is not responsible for any lost or stolen funds. This wallet is your responsibility and we can in no way recover lost or stolen funds. Never share your private keys or passwords with anyone.

Online wallet creator

Bitcoin Interest Edition. All the data is stored only on your browser. Don’t forget to write down your keys before exit.

Open Source

btgwallet.online and Coinbin are an open source web based wallets written in javascript and released under the MIT license which means it’s free to use and edit. None of the providers and developers bare responsibility if a user get scammed. By using this software you are agreeing that it has no warranty.

MultiSig

We offer a fully transparent multisig solution which works seamlessly offline and with other Bitcoin Interest clients.

Raw Transactions

Wallet

Quick access to an online wallet where only you have access to your own private keys!

Addresses

We support regular addresses, multisig, segwit and stealth all with access to your own private keys!

Development

Use what we’ve built to write your own projects! See our documention (coming soon), or contribute at github.

Wallet browser based Bitcoin Interest wallet

Logout Welcome to your wallet, enjoy your stay!

0.00 BCI

Send

History

Keys

Balance will not update until the first confirmation. It may take up to one hour.

New Address create a new address

Any keys used you will need to manually store safely as they will be needed later to redeem the Bitcoin Interest.

Address Options

You can use the advanced options below to generate different kind of keys and addresses.

New SegWit Address Smaller & Faster Transactions

Any keys used you will need to manually store safely as they will be needed later to redeem the bitcoins.

SegWit Address (Share)

Address Options

You can use the advanced options below to generate different kind of keys and addresses.

New Multisig Address Secure multisig address

Enter the public keys of all the participants, to create a multi signature address. Maximum of 15 allowed. Compressed and uncompressed public keys are accepted.

Enter the amount of signatures required to release the coins

Payment should be made to this address:

This script should be saved and should be shared with all the participants before a payment is made, so they may validate the authenticity of the address, it will also be used later to release the Bitcoin Interests.

New Time Locked Address Coins can be released only after a certain date

Use OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY (OP_HODL) to create a time locked address where the funds are unspendable until a set date and time has passed.

Enter the public key that will be able to unlock the funds after the a certain date.

Enter the date and time or blockheight required to release the coins:

Payment should be made to this address:

This script should be saved and should be shared with all the participants before a payment is made, so they may validate the authenticity of the address, it will also be used later to release the Bitcoin Interests.

New HD Address making bip32 even easier

Use the form below to generate a master hierarchical deterministic address.

Address Options

You can use the advanced options below to generate different kinds of master addresses.

Transaction Create a new transaction

Use this page to create a raw transaction

Address, WIF key or Redeem Script:

Clear existing inputs when new inputs are loaded.

Null Data (80 byte limit, 40 bytes recommended)

Allow data to be sent within the transaction and stored in the blockchain by using OP_RETURN.

The locktime indicates the earliest time a transaction can be added to the block chain.

Replace By Fee (RBF)

The settings page can be used to select alternative networks of which you can retrieve your unspent outputs and broadcast a signed transaction into.

Enter the address and amount you wish to make a payment to.

Enter the details of inputs you wish to spend.

The transaction below has been generated and encoded. It can be broadcasted once it has been signed.

Bitcoin Interest Fee Calculator

This page will give you a guide on the lowest fee to use to get your transaction included within the next few blocks. It works by predicting the size of a transaction and comparing it to another transaction in a recent block to determine an appropriate fee.

Recommended Fee: 0.00000000 BCI for a transaction of 0 bytes

Regular Compressed 1 148 bytes*estimate

SegWit 0 0 bytes*estimate

MultiSig 0 0 bytes*estimate

Hodl Time Locked 0 0 bytes*estimate

Unknown 0 0 bytes*estimate

Regular p2pkh (1. ) 2 68 bytes*estimate

Regular p2sh (3. ) 0 0 bytes*estimate

Blockchain Data

This is based on us comparing your transaction against a very recent transaction found in a very recent block

Transaction Size: 0 bytes

Transaction Fee: 0.00000000

Satoshi per Byte: 0

Based on your data and this recently mined transaction we recommend a fee of 0.00000000 BCI to get it into the next few blocks

Enter your unsigned or signed hex encoded transaction below:

Estimate Input Size in bytes

Estimate Output Size in bytes

Verify transactions and other scripts

Enter the raw transaction, redeem script, pubkey, hd address or wif key to convert it into a readable format that can be verified manually.

Redeem Script

The above redeem script has been decoded

Signatures Required from

Transaction Script

The above script has been decoded

WIF key

The above wif key has been decoded

Public key

The above public key has been encoded to its address

Segwit Redeem Script:

HD Address

The key has been decoded

Key Derivation

The path of key derivation

Keys derived from the hd address provided

Sign Transaction once a transaction has been verified

Once you have verified a transaction you can sign and then broadcast it into the network.

The above transaction has been signed:

Broadcast Transaction into the Bitcoin Interest network

Enter your hex encoded Bitcoin Interest transaction

Development Javascript framework, API and more

About open source Bitcoin Interest wallet

Compatible with bitcoin-qt

What is Bitcoin Interest?

BitcoinInterest («BCI») is a competitive staking cryptocurrency focusing on three key areas Technology, Community, and Savings. Our blockchain has new integrated savings technology that allows our users to safely park their coins and earn interest payments without ever moving coins from their wallets.

Don’t Risk Your Coin Holdings

Unlike other interest payment platforms that require you to send your coins to them, Bitcoin Interest is the first fully decentralized interest payments platform that will never ask you to send your coins anywhere! With our advanced interest technology you can hold your coins in your own wallet and receive interest payments with absolutely no risk to you. You’ll never be required to trust your coin holdings with anyone again!

Information

wallet.bitcoininterest.io is a free and open source project released under the MIT license, originally by OutCast3k in 2013. Discussion of the project can be found at bitcointalk.org during its early testing stages when its primary focus was to develop a proof of concept multisig solution in javascript.

wallet.bitcoininterest.io is run and funded by the generosity of others in terms of development and hosting.

Privacy

Bitcoin Interest believes strongly in privacy, the site does not collect and store IP or transaction data via our servers nor do we store your bitcoins private key. We are using an LetвЂ™s Encrypt SSL certificate.

This page uses javascript to generate your addresses and sign your transactions within your browser, this means we never receive your private keys, this can be independently verified by reviewing the source code on github. You can even download this page and host it yourself or run it offline!

Bitcoin Interest is not responsible for any lost or stolen funds. This wallet is your responsibility and we can in no way recover lost or stolen funds. Never share your private keys or passwords with anyone.

Bitcoin Web Wallets (Online Wallets)

Online Bitcoin wallets–also called web wallets–are wallets that run in your web browser just like any other website.

Surprisingly, the web wallet options are slim compared to the options for iPhone or Android.

At this time, there are is only one Bitcoin web wallet worth using.

Heads Up!

Large amounts of bitcoins should not be stored on your online wallet! If you want the most secure Bitcoin wallet then you will need to use a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano S or TREZOR.

You should always do research before downloading or installing any Bitcoin wallet. Many wallets are malware and will just steal your bitcoins once you fund the wallet.

GreenAddress

Because web wallets run in your browser, they can be more prone to cyber attacks.

GreenAddress takes this issue seriously and has implemented some neat features to help prevent basic online attacks.

GreenAddress is a “multi-signature” wallet. This means GreenAddress shares control of your Bitcoin with you. While other online wallets are prone to phishing attacks, GreenAddress controlling one of your keys provided true two-factor authentication.

GreenAddress Wallet User Guide and Review

GreenAddress.it was one of the first bitcoin wallets to offer it’s users the combination of several advanced features including enhanced security such as hierarchically deterministic (HD), multisignature (often called multisig), hardware wallet support, dynamic fees, and transaction replacement.

GreenAddress doesn’t make you choose between security and convenience or make you feel like you have to compromise your privacy either.

Your main GreenAddress account is a 2of2 account.

2of2 and 2of3 refer to the number of signatures required to move coins in a transaction.

This means that two signatures are required to validate any transaction: one from you, and one from us. GreenAddress signs your transaction only if it complies with the limits you have enabled, and only when you provide two-factor authentication.

A 2of3 account requires two out of three signatures, where the third signature is from a backup key known only to you.

They don’t control full access of your private keys*, and make it trivial to view and transfer your funds; a creative and quirky additional security feature.

And, we never store your private keys, not even encrypted. At the same time we make it trivial to view and transfer your funds.

Better privacy with your funds and safer login with watch-only

You can safely check your balance and transactions from public Wi-Fi, Starbucks and on the go.

With our unique watch-only mode you can quickly check your balance or receive funds without full access to your wallet.

Your keys are not loaded so no transactions are possible and settings can’t be modified.

More features that allow convenient and secure access to your wallet.

Enable quick PIN login to your wallet from any of your devices without having to use your passphrase.

Should GreenAddress’s system be taken down or disappear, you can sleep safe with their automatic presigned transaction (nLockTime) allowing you to simply wait for your selected expiry to get your funds!

This nLockTime creates transactions that can only be spent and confirmed by the network after a specific period of time.

When you receive coins into your wallet, GreenAddress creates one of these transactions and assigns them to be sent to an address controlled only by your mnemonics. We then encrypt and email this transaction to you.

You can easily login in ‘watch-only mode’ via custom login without compromising security or privacy.

The main issue with this wallet provider is the stability of the site. Users claim hardship login in to their wallets which is what keeping this company from dominating the bitcoin wallet market.

How to use GreenAddress

First, download GreenAddress from the Apple App Store, once installed, open the app.

Even though the process shown here is using the iPhone App, it is very similar on the web and on Android.

Next, select “Create new Wallet”, it’s highlighted in green in the upper right hand corner.

You are now the proud owner of a bitcoin wallet.

GreenAddress will ask you to please finish the following 3-step account setup process to fully secure it against intruders.

Step 1 is to write down your 24 word mnemonic passphrase.

GreenAddress will ask you to please write down these words and store them in a safe place as they can’t be recovered.

NOTE : I blacked out my 24 word phrase.

Check the box next to: I confirm my passphrase is saved & secured and I agree with the Terms of Service.

In step 2, GreenAddress will ask you to enter the missing words from your mnemonic and to set up your two factor authentication to verify that you backed it up correctly and wrote the phrase down correctly.

NOTE: Even though most wallets DO NOT allow users to take a screenshot of the 24 word phrase screen, GreenAddressDOES. We highly recommend you DO NOT take a screenshot of this phrase and only write it down.

NOTE: We also highly recommend you DO NOT enter it into a password manager field or software, (i.e. a browser, or word document). This information can be accessed via malware such as CoinThief, and other Trojan viruses.

Here is a link to a SecureMac OSX/CoinThief Identification Manual and Removal Instructions that was released as a result.

After you entered the requested fields, scroll down to the bottom of your screen and select Verify.

The next part of step 2 will ask you set up two factor authentification. GreenAddress asks you to do this via Email, GA, SMS, or phone.

Enter your 6-digit confirmation code into the “Email code” field, and then, select Enable. If you correctly enter your code, a message box that resumes the one below will briefly flash at the top your screen:

After you confirm your two step authentication, select Continue.

The first part of Step 3 asks you to set up a 4-15 digit PIN number.

Access by PIN allows quick login while keeping security to a high standard. The PIN secures a random AES 256 bit password which will delete if 3 PIN attempts fail, forcing you to provide your full mnemonic’s once again.

NOTE:You can skip PIN setup and continue with wallet access, however both GreenAddress and us here at Buy Bitcoin Worldwide strongly advise you take a few minutes and complete this PIN setup.

Once you’ve decided on a PIN, select “PIN set, ready for step 3”. This will take you to the Receive, the GreenAddres app default homepage.

Congratulations, your GreenAddress is setup for use.

Upon signing into the GreenAddress app, by default it takes you to the receive homepage as shown above.

To access your GreenAddress wallet features menu, simply swipe right and this menu will open from the left side of the screen.

These features include recent transactions, send and receive, address book, settings, and logout options.

Your recent transactions page will look like this:

Here you can all of your recent transaction and the details of those transactions.

Now that you have a secure wallet, you are probably wondering how to receive and add funds.

To receive a payment, swipe right to pull up your wallet features menu and select “Receive”.